Scope and Content

Administrative / Biographical History

John Ward (1805-1890), diplomat, was born on 28 August 1805 at East Cowes, son of John Ward, collector of customs. He received training in the law, but chose to become an inspector of prisons in 1837. In 1838 he was appointed secretary to the New Zealand Colonization Company, and in 1841 British commissioner for the revision of the state tolls. In 1845 he became consul-general at Leipzig. During the 1850s he engaged in diplomatic work on behalf of Britain on the continent. He was made charg d'affaires and consul-general for the Hanse Towns and the surrounding area in Germany in 1860, and was promoted to minister-resident in 1866. He retired to England in 1870, and died at Dover on 1 September 1890.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for consultation by holders of a Reader's Ticket valid for the Manuscripts Reading Room.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Sir AW. Ward, 1918.

Note

Description compiled by Robert Steiner, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives. The biographical history was compiled with reference to the entry on Ward in Sidney Lee, ed., Dictionary of national biography, Vol. XX (London, 1909), pp. 780-781.